Fluorescent lamp socket mounting



March 6, 1956 D. LANE 2,737,635

FLUORESCENT LAMP SOCKET MOUNTING Original Filed April '7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 3 DAVID LANE.

March 6, 1956 D. LANE 2,737,635

FLUORESCENT LAMP SOCKET MOUNTING Original Filed April '7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. DRVI 0 LA N E n TTORNE Y United States Patent FLUORESCENT LAMP SOCKET MOUNTING David Lane, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Progress Manufacturing Company, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., :1 corporation of Pennsylvania Original application April 7, 1950, Serial No. 154,493. Divided and this application November 8, 1952, Serial No. 319,547

1 Claim. (Cl. 339-126) This invention relates to lighting fixtures and more particularly to an improved fixture utilizing ring-shaped fluorescent lamps, this application being a division of application Serial No. 154,493, filed April 7, 1950, now matured as United States Letters Patent No. 2,688,690, issued September 7, 1954.

Among the principal objects of the present invention is the provision of a simple and elfective construction of latching member for quick-detachably mounting the lamp sockets upon the lamp-supporting fixture base, which member is in the form of a fiat slide of spring metal which is designed to securely interfit with an externally grooved supporting neck formed at the inner end of the lamp socket to resiliently bias and releasably detain said neck in a complementally shaped opening provided therefor in the fixture base.

The foregoing objective, and such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, are attained in the manner illustrated in the appended drawings, wherein Figure l is a perspective view looking upwardly at a fixture constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the fixture looking toward its base;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the fixture when viewed along the line 33 of Figure 4;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view as taken on the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the fixture showing the dual-socketed lamp holder of the present invention partially broken away to reveal details of the holder construction;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view as taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a partial sectional view 7-7 of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a plan view of the retaining clip member for securement of the dual-socketed lamp holder in position.

The fixture constructed in accordance with the invention is shown in the drawings as comprising an escutcheon plate 10, a pair of axially spaced circular fluorescent lamps 20, a dual-socketed lamp holder 30, and a pair of auxiliary lamp-holding clamps 70 in association with control apparatus, including thermal switches 15 and ballast coils 16, such as are conventionally employed in fluorescent lighting units.

The fixture constructed in accordance with the invention is shown in the drawings as comprising an escutcheon plate 10, a pair of axially spaced circular fluorescent lamps 20, a dual-socketed lamp holder 30, and a pair of auxiliary lamp-holding clamps 70 in association with control apparatus, including thermal switches 15 and ballast coils 16, such as are conventionally employed in fluorescent lighting units.

The escutcheon plate 10, which comprises a dish-shaped base of any suitable ornamental configuration which may as taken along line 2,737,635 Patented Mar. 6, 1956 be suitably supported from a ceiling or other wall, is provided with an opening 12 for passage of a threaded supporting nipple (not shown). The base or support 10 may be formed of metal, plastic or other suitable material and may be enameled, painted or otherwise finished on its exterior to harmonize with the decor of the space to be illuminated. The base is preferably formed with a flat annular portion 11, to which are attached most of the other fixture parts, such as the conventional ballast coils 16 and thermal switches 15.

The fluorescent lamps 20 are also conventional, each consisting of a coated tube bent into circular shape with the ends thereof spaced apart to receive therebetween a suitable connector plug 21. Two pairs of prongs 22-22 (of which one pair of one lamp are shown in Figure 5) project from each lamp plug, each pair of said prongs 2222 being connected to the opposite terminals of a cathode forming part of the electrode located at each end of the lamp. The plugs are of insulating material and are conventionally formed of two parts held together by a threaded bolt 24.

The dual-socketed holder 30 is detachably secured to the fixture base. For this purpose the holder is provided at one end thereof with an endwise-projecting tubular neck 52 the lateral walls of which define a wiring exit passage 51. Preferably, this neck is of polygonal shape, usually square, so that upon insertion thereof in the correspondingly shaped opening 17 in the base plate 10 of the fixture the holder 30 will be restrained against rotation about the axis of the tubular neck 52 and so present the socket constantly in position to properly receive the plugs 21 of the lamps 20. The tubular neck 52 is perimetrally grooved, as at 54, this groove being so arranged that upon insertion of the tubular neck in the opening 17 it is disposed interiorly of the fixture base 10.

For securing the holder to the base a quick-detachable clip member 55 is employed, this clip member being stamped and formed of flat spring steel stock to provide a U-shaped member having a pair of opposed wing portions 5656, the corresponding ends of which are interconnected by an end portion 57. The inner edges of the wing portions 5656 and the end portion 57 are respectively bent at angle to the plane of the clip member and define therebetween a notch 58 for reception of the grooved tubular neck 52 of the lamp holder. The entrance to the notch 58 is restricted by a pair of inwardly presenting projections 5959. When the clip member is slidably engaged with the grooved neck 52 of the lamp holder, as best shown in Figure 8, with the angularly bent marginal edges of the notch seated in the groove 54, the said edges serve as wedge elements to resiliently press the bottom of the lamp holder 30 tightly against the supporting base plate 10 of the fixture. The clip member is restrained against ready removal from its latching engagement with the lamp holder by the projections 59-59, which are spreadable to releasably embrace that portion of the grooved neck which extends freely across the open end of the notch 58. The requisite spreadability and resilience of the oppositely disposed parts of the clip are preferably attained by notching the clip as at 60-60. In order to facilitate attachment and detachment of the clip member 55, it may be provided with an upturned tail piece 61 which may be engaged by the fingers to push or pull the clip into or out of engagement with the neck 52 of the lamp holder 30.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

A supporting and latching member for a iamp socket of the type provided with an externally grooved supporting neck receivable through an opening in a lamp fixture base, said member comprising a flat slide of spring material having a surface engageable with said fixture base adjacent its opening and on the side thereof remote from said lamp socket, and having a pair of spreadable wing portions separated by a rectangular sl0t='adapted to engage three sides slide being-further provided with a pair of transverse slots communicating with the end of said rectangular slot opposite the entrance end thereof to permit resilient spreading apartof said projections upon sliding engagement of the latching member with the lampsocket, the opposite edges .ofsaidslot being bent outof-the plane of the slide whereby upon interlocking engagement'of the slide with the groove in the socket neck, said slide is operative to react against said fixture base to resiliently bias thereagainst the shoulder adjacent said socket neck.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,024 'Meacham 'Feb. 23, '1909 1;890,617 Lamy Dec. 13, 1 932 2,171,331 Folsom, Jr. Aug. 29, 1939 2,201,751 Wertzheiser May 21, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 560,412 "Great Britain Apr. 4, 1944 

